Advent 2016 // December 7

You Were Created to BE in Communion With God

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 5.1-5

In Genesis, God created humanity to exist in communion with Him. We see Him walking in the garden and talking with Adam and Eve. He created a system in which people would exist in community with Himself.

In Revelation, we see the establishment of the new heavens and the new earth. The central theme is that God’s people will once again be with God in proper relationship, with Him as God and His people as happily submitting disciples. Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God (Revelations 21.3).

You do not live in the Garden of Eden, and the Wedding Supper of the Lamb (Revelations 19) is not ready to serve, so what are you supposed to do? The Bible reveals to us a God who is always making new ways for His people to dwell with Him. From the Tabernacle in the desert and the temple in Jerusalem, to the point in time when God came to earth and actually dwelled in the midst of His people. The communion of God through Jesus Christ is what allows you to have fellowship with God. Through the work of Jesus, you have reconciliation with God and are able to return to the relationship that you were created for.

This relationship is what you yearn for. All of the pain, struggle, and difficulty of your life is wrapped up in the fact that you desperately need God. You need His gracious presence made manifest in your life. He has done the work to bring Himself to you, now you must seek Him with the urgency that this longing merits. Cast off all of the temporary, fading aspects of this life to unapologetically pursue the life that God has prepared for you.